{"id":450269,"date":"2025-12-16T05:33:23","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T05:33:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/450269\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T05:33:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T05:33:23","slug":"pizza-cassette-pop-up-opening-permanent-pacific-beach-location","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/450269\/","title":{"rendered":"Pizza Cassette Pop-Up Opening Permanent Pacific Beach Location"},"content":{"rendered":"

What do UNESCO<\/a> and Michaelagelo (the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, not the artist) have in common?<\/p>\n

Answer: They both know that pizza is pretty special.<\/p>\n

So does James \u201cJimmy\u201d Terwilliger. He\u2019s been slinging wood-fired, scratch-made pizzas as Pizza Cassette<\/a> since 2022. But his pizza life started during his teenage years in upstate New York, where he delivered pies until working his way up to actually making them. I could name every stop on the long, long pizza-making journey that led him to opening a permanent pop-up at The G\u00e4rten in Bay Park<\/a> in 2022, but here are some highlights: Ciro\u2019s Pizzeria & Beerhouse in Pacific Beach, Catania and Wheat & Water in La Jolla, Biga in Downtown, and as a pizza consultant at Buona Forchetta.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, yeah. This guy knows how to make really good pizza.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"James<\/p>\n

As the only permanent food vendor at The G\u00e4rten for the past three years, Terwilliger\u2019s unique New York-meets-Italian-style pizza has gained a bit of a cult following.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings have gone in an amazingly positive direction here,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019ve been busier than I ever could have imagined.\u201d So busy, in fact, that he\u2019s been searching for a brick-and-mortar space to open a second location. But it needed to meet some specific criteria: it had to be both bigger than a tent and (crucially) have walls and a roof.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After nearly two years of searching, he found it. Pizza Cassette will open at 1459 Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach sometime in the first few months of 2026. Terwilliger\u2019s approach will remain much the same, incorporating his fine-dining experience with a commitment to scratch cooking.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe make every single thing, besides the salami and the cheese, from scratch,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re grinding our own sausage. We\u2019re grinding our own meat for meatballs. We\u2019re butchering and brining and roasting the pastrami ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Oven-bakedCourtesy of Pizza Cassette<\/p>\n

The biggest difference in PB (besides having walls and a roof) will be using a very fancy electric Italian oven (rather than the wood-burning stove at G\u00e4rten) due to the difficulty of getting a permit for open flames. If he\u2019s not 100 percent happy with the initial results, he\u2019s open to filing for the permit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pizza Cassette PB will have around 60 to 80 seats inside, with the potential to add even more in a back parking lot-turned-patio. Guests will order at a counter, then have their food brought to their table by food runners for a more upscale experience than a typical slice shop, Terwilliger says.<\/p>\n

He calls his dough \u201cNeopolitan-inspired,\u201d made with half traditional double zero flour and half Type 1 flour (\u201cplus a few secret ingredients,\u201d he says), with a shorter fermentation time than many other Neapolitan-style pizza makers<\/a>. The result is a fluffy, airy crust with a nice crunch and soft interior.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s confident in his model\u2014after all, The G\u00e4rten was his proof of concept, and it\u2019s been gangbusters. So if (probably when) things go really well with this next venture, Terwilliger is open to anything. \u201cI would love to open a full-service fine dining restaurant that serves pizza\u2026 maybe something where we\u2019re growing our own ingredients too,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s every chef\u2019s goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pizza Cassette opens at 1459 Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach in early 2026. Initial operating hours will likely be Tuesday through Thursday, 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday through Sunday, noon to 10 p.m.<\/p>\n

\"WestgateCourtesy of Westgate Hotel San Diego<\/p>\n

San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events<\/p>\n

Tea With The Grinch? Only At The Westgate.<\/p>\n

For my ninth birthday (never mind how long ago that was), I hosted all my girlfriends for a fancy afternoon tea party<\/a>, complete with lacy gloves, finger sandwiches, and dainty cups that, in retrospect, I\u2019m astonished we didn\u2019t break. But why dust off your own china set when The Westgate Hotel probably puts out a much prettier spread than anything us mere mortals could put together? This December, they\u2019re mixing up their seasonal afternoon teas with themes like Winter Wonderland<\/a> (Dec 17\u201321; Dec 26\u201328; and Dec. 31\u2013Jan 4 from 1 p.m. to\u00a05 p.m.), Santa\u2019s Teddy Bear<\/a> (20\u201321 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.), and Grinch\u2019s Tea<\/a> (Christmas Eve from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.). I have a very hilarious mental image of the Grinch sipping tea in the new Bonne Vie Brasserie & Bar, so I may have to check it out for myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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